Hiring Consultation

Global energy company with operations in approximately 70 countries

HR Manager and Hiring Manager
(both are based overseas and speak only English)

To hire and on-board three people for all three positions within three months of the request (two back-office and one front-office)

Assessment of the existing recruitment process and challenges

• Shared knowledge of the Japanese bilingual talent market to develop a recruitment strategy
• Created a dedicated recruitment schedule to meet the deadline of launching the Japanese office within three months
• Identified two major challenges for forming a candidate pool in the Japanese market:
  the lack of infrastructure in the Japan office
  - the interviewers at the Global HQ had a shallow understanding of the current state of the Japanese bilingual talent market

Implementation

• Localize and promote global recruitment branding content for Japan
• Defined the candidate personas for the target positions
• Conducted market research and talent mapping
• Held regular progress meetings with the hiring manager and recruiter to provide feedback on the market response, which led to a clearer image of personas and streamlined the candidate selection process
• Increased the candidates' understanding of the position and prevent mismatches by clarifying the details of the first three months of work and the future vision of the Japan office

• Successfully hired and onboarded all three positions within the deadline
• 100% acceptance rate for job offers
• All three candidates achieved a salary increase of over 1 million yen

A multinational fintech company with thousands of affiliates worldwide, providing global payment solutions

CFO, COO, Hiring Manager at the Global HQ, HR Manager at Japanese Office

To hire a few head counts of the newly established department in the Japan office (finance, head of internal audit, internal control, etc.)

Assessment of the existing recruitment process and challenges

• Digged into the recruitment timeline, interview process, access to hiring managers
• Confirmed the gap between the ideal persona and the skill and salary range in the bilingual talent market in Japan was making recruitment difficult and lengthy

Implementation

• Reviewed the required skills and experience and redefined the target group to include senior candidates
• Reconstructed the recruitment strategy, including cost, salary range, and messaging, in anticipation of hiring senior professionals.
• In collaboration with the global team, we clarified and verbalized the company's overall direction and the appeal of working in the Japan office. This was done to improve the communication of the position's appeal to a wider audience.
• Repeated candidate screening, interview attendance, and feedback to management to improve the execution accuracy of the new recruitment strategy.

• By expanding the applicant pool and effectively appealing to a pool of high-quality and qualified candidates, the client company was able to achieve its recruitment goals without any delays, resulting in the hiring of four new employees within three months.

A world-leading British financial group
(securities, brokerage, cryptocurrency, etc.)

CFO, Head of Japan office, HR Manager of Japan Office

To hire early in multiple departments to cope with the increasing workload (accounting and finance, administration, and compliance)

Assessment of the existing recruitment process and challenges

• A global company with a long history of operations in Japan consulted us about streamlining the mid-career recruitment process.
• An identified key challenge was the lack of localization in our client branding, which was currently applied uniformly across the globe. This hindered their ability to effectively recruit candidates in Japan and negatively impacts its overall recruitment efficiency in the country.

Implementation

• After explaining the Japanese recruitment landscape, process, and bilingual job market to the global office, we conducted a gap analysis between the ideal candidate profile and the market.
• To achieve a harmonious alignment between global branding and localized messaging for the Japanese market, we undertook a comprehensive redesign of the message from the Japan office representative.　
• In collaboration with the Japan office head and HR, we successfully localized the recruitment criteria and operations to the Japanese environment in agreement with the global office.

• The global office's understanding of the unique Japanese environment (English proficiency, hiring practices, and job market) led to the elimination of perception gaps across all aspects of the recruitment operation.
• Provided recruitment support for over 6 months, resulting in the successful hiring of more than 6 candidates.
• Enhanced clarity and specificity in the branding of the Japan office has led to a reduction in pre- and post-boarding gaps, resulting in the elimination of early turnover.

A leading Japanese service provider company with a dominant market share in the financial service industry

Executive Officer in Charge of the Division, General Manager of the Division, and Department Manager

To hire a bilingual talent to meet the specific needs of one of their global client

Assessment of the existing recruitment process and challenges

• While our client's recruitment planning and processes were well-established, they were facing significant challenges in hiring bilingual candidates, including low application rates and frequent drop-outs after interviews.
• Hypothesized that their job postings and external messaging were not effectively attracting overseas-experienced bilingual talent, and we developed strategies to address this gap.

Implementation

• Streamlined their job postings by focusing on core responsibilities and expanded the candidate pool to include foreign nationals with N1-level Japanese proficiency.
• Crafted a compelling company message that effectively conveys their strategic direction and the passion for business expansion, with the involvement of executives and division managers.
• Enhanced their pre-interview information provision to include details about department culture and client communication, allowing candidates to approach interviews with a higher level of understanding of the role and the company.
• To streamline their recruitment process, they were temporarily suspending the use of other recruiting agencies and we were committing to the client as their exclusive partner.

• By expanding a candidate pool and reducing dropout rates, our client successfully hired 3 new employees within 4 months